Drowning

Hi, I seem to be having a problem with my mask at night, it do's not matter if I have the humidilier on or not I am constantly drowning at night. Help please

By drowning, I'm assuming you mean that you've got lots of water in the hose that's dripping/flowing into your mask and onto your face. The water in the hose is condensation and it's usually referred to here as rainout. Use this site's Search feature on the word rainout and you'll get plenty of hits with lots of suggestions about what to do for rainout problems.

The usual culprits that trigger rainout are a combination of too much humidity in the air and too cold of a room. Now you've tried the most obvious solution: Turning the humidifier down or off. And you say you're still getting rainout.

So that means the humidity is coming from somewhere other than a heated humidifier. Some possibilities:

1) If there's water in the humidifier tank, then you are running in so-called passover mode. And if you live in a fairly humid area to begin with, it's possible for passover mode to add too much humidity to the air. So you could try running the equipment without the humidifier even attached to the blower unit.

2) If you need humidified air to breath properly and you are getting condensation in the hose as well as on your nose, then switching to a heated hose might help. Or using a hose cozy to cover the hose. Or running the hose under the covers next to your body for warmth. Or a combination of these ideas. The point of all of them is to keep the air in the hose warm enough to prevent or minimize condensation. As a last resort, you can also increase the temperature in your bedroom a bit too.

3) If the condensation is mainly in the mask and NOT in the hose, the excess humidity is coming from you---every time you exhale, you are breathing warm, moist air into the mask. And if the mask is cold because your bedroom is cold, that can lead to condensation problems. Mask liners might help absorb some of the excess moisture and make you more comfortable. Also make sure that none of the exhaust holes in the mask are blocked---they allow both the CO2 and the water vapor you exhale to exit the mask. About the only other fix is to keep the bedroom a bit warmer.

4) Your profile indicates you are using a nasal pillows mask. So this next idea is probably not all that likely, but I'll throw it out anyway: You could be noticing drool accumulating in your mask. Some of us are pretty profuse droolers at night. And if there's a way for the drool to seep into your mask, it will likely get trapped. Mask liners could be used to absorb some of the drool. And a good quality seal should minimize the drool.

reddwarfau, if you decide to use a heated hose, or add heat to your existing air hose:

LINKS to discussions about the Aussie heated hose or Repti heat cable - to prevent rainout
viewtopic.php?t=5305

Try or at least insure that the CPAP is lower then your head. Put it on the floor.
Try running the hose up under the covers.
Use some type of hose cover, such as quilting or flannel.
Raise your room temp. a couple of degrees
No matter whether the humidifier is turned on or off. Don't overfill the water chamber.

This post is now obsolete, check my other post (Pneumonia)I wonder if the constant moister is what has caused my next problem.

reddwarfau wrote:Hi, I seem to be having a problem with my mask at night, it do's not matter if I have the humidilier on or not I am constantly drowning at night. Help please

Geeze sport, the Riverina ? - with all that water you folk copped over the last 6 months I can't help wondering if the solution to your problem is to move to higher ground

DSM (in Sinney)


Seriously, though - it is winter & a hose cover or an Aussie heated Hose (or a machine that has one as std - F&P or Resmed) would possibly solve the problem.

D

PPS what part of the district are you in ?

PPPS just read your last post - will check the next link